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Tom and Jerry: Underdog
| screenplay = | story = Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio | based on = | starring = | music = John Debney | cinematography = David Eggby | editing = Tom Finan | production companies = * Spyglass Entertainment }} | distributor = Universal Pictures | released = | runtime = 86 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $70 million | gross = $348.8 million }} Tom and Jerry: Underdog is a 2012 American family superhero comedy film based on the 1960s cartoon series of the same name. Directed by Frederik Du Chau and written by Joe Piscatella, Adam Rifkin, and Craig A. Williams, the film stars Jim Belushi, Peter Dinklage, John Slattery, and Patrick Warburton with the voice talents of Jason Lee, Amy Adams, and Brad Garrett. Unlike the TV series, the Underdog character is portrayed as a regular dog rather than an anthropomorphic one. Underdog, voiced by Jason Lee, was played by a lemon beagle named Leo sporting a red sweater and a blue cape. The film grossed $65.3 million worldwide. Plot In the Capital City Town Hall, a beagle on the police bomb squad sets off a false alarm. After being shunned by his fellow police canines, the beagle leaves in shame and is abducted off the street by Cad, who takes him to Simon Barsinister's lab. Bitter his proposal for genetic experimentation was declined, Simon plans to prove the mayor wrong by testing his new serum on the beagle. Underdog escapes and runs amok in the lab, causing a fire and becoming exposed to various chemicals, which modify his DNA and give him superpowers. After his escape, the beagle avoids an encounter with a Rottweiler named Riff Raff and his lackeys. Dan Unger strikes the beagle with his car, but, thanks to the serum, the beagle is unharmed. Dan takes him home and names him Shoeshine after the dog licks his shoes. Dan's son, Jack, becomes jealous of Shoeshine's attention. Dan retired from the police to spend more time with Jack after his wife's death but still seems busy. Jack leaves for school and Dan for work, leaving Shoeshine at the house alone, where he, still unaware of his new powers, accidentally makes a very large mess. After coming home, Jack complains as he cleans up, and Shoeshine shocks both of them by claiming it was an accident. Jack initially runs away, but after they reach a park, Jack and Shoeshine talk and bond over their respective attraction to Molly and Polly, Jack's friend and her dog. After the girls leave, Jack and Shoeshine test his powers. When Molly and Polly are mugged, Shoeshine rushes to their aid, discovering he can fly. After discreetly rescuing them, Shoeshine returns home with Jack, making Jack promise to never reveal his powers. Cad shows up at the door with posters of Shoeshine, but Jack fools him into leaving just before Dan comes home to discover the mess. Meanwhile, Simon and Cad find a new lair beneath the city, then plan a robbery to fund rebuilding Simon's lab. Seeing Cad's heist on the news, Jack convinces Shoeshine to intervene. Shoeshine disguises himself and saves the hostages, but Cad escapes. Shoeshine adopts the alias Underdog and becomes the city's resident superhero, donning a red sweater and blue cape as his disguise. Simon repeatedly fails to recreate his serum and sends Cad to obtain a sample of Shoeshine's DNA. Shoeshine is rebuffed by Polly but gets a date with her as Underdog. Cad fails to capture Underdog but obtains his collar, which contains Underdog's name and address. Barsinister and Cad kidnap Dan and force him to call Shoeshine for help. Shoeshine and Jack attempt a rescue, but Barsinister uses both Jack and Dan as hostages to convince Shoeshine to give up his DNA. Barsinister synthesizes Underdog's superpowers into pills, forces Shoeshine to take a power-nullifying antidote pill, and feeds the super pills to three trained German Shepherds. He and Cad leave the family trapped in the sewers, but Dan's police experience allows him to free everyone. They pursue Barsinister with a hypodermic filled with the antidote. At the city hall, Barsinister takes the mayor hostage and instructs Cad to attach a bomb rigged with a mind control serum to the roof; Molly and Polly follow Cad. Shoeshine smells the bomb and, conquering his self-doubt, enters the building despite having lost his powers. During a scuffle with Barsinister, Shoeshine accidentally rips open Barsinister's pocket and swallows a pill. With his powers restored, Shoeshine temporarily incapacitates the German Shepherds after he hears Molly and Polly cry for help, but Barsinister eats a pill and distracts Shoeshine by tossing a Frisbee. When the German Shepherds recover, Shoeshine convinces them to turn on Barsinister, who has not treated them well. While they restrain Barsinister, Shoeshine disarms the bomb, saving Molly and Polly. Dan injects Barsinister with the antidote, and Shoeshine, dressed now as Underdog, buries the bomb in the park. He is caught in the explosion and thought dead, but a mournful crowd is overjoyed when he revives. Dan is reinstated as a police officer, Barsinister and Cad go to jail, and Shoeshine returns to protecting Capital City as Underdog. Cast * Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Barsinister * Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackey * Jim Belushi as Dan Unger * Alex Neuberger as Jack Unger * Taylor Momsen as Molly * John Slattery as the Mayor * Samantha Bee as Principal * Frank L. Ridley as Police Sergeant Voice cast * Jason Lee as Shoeshine / Underdog * Phil LaMarr as Spike * Kath Soucie as Tuffy * Jeff Bergman as Butch and Droopy *Dan Castellaneta as Elliot. He was supposed to marry Giselle, but abandoned her due to new emotions. In the end, he and Giselle end up getting married anyway after he finally manages to profess his love for Giselle. *John Goodman as Boog. He also leads the rescue mission to save Mr. Weenie. *Cody Cameron as Mr. Weenie. He is a German dachshund. He was captured by Fifi and the pets, leaving Boog, Elliot, and the other wilds to go rescue him. *Jane Krakowski as Giselle. She is Elliot's fiance who is scared of getting married. However, in the end, she and Elliot end up getting married after Elliot finally professes his love for Gisele. *Steve Carell as McSquizzy. He joins in the mission to save Weenie. *Crispin Glover as Fifi. He is an ill-tempered toy poodle who is often annoyed by his companion, Roberto. Fifi has a deep hatred over wild animals and slowly begins to lose his sanity after his forehead gets burned during a chase. *Danny Mann as Serge. He joins in the ue mission to save Weenie with Deni. *Matthew W. Taylor as Deni/Buddy/Ian, one of the main protagonist. Except for Ian, they join in the mission to save Mr. Weenie. *Steve Schirripa as Roberto. He is Fifi's dim-witted companion who usually annoys him. In the end, he is reformed and becomes friends with the wilds. *Fred Stoller as Stanley. He is a pet cat who is constantly annoyed by Roger. In the end, he is reformed and becomes friends with the wilds. *Sean Mullen as Roger. He is a mentally retarded cat who often annoys his best friend Stanley. In the end, he is reformed and becomes friends with the wilds. *Diedrich Bader as Rufus. He is a Southern dog who is Charlene's boyfriend. In the end, he is reformed and becomes friends with the wilds. *Olivia Hack as Charlene, a Western dog who is Rufus' girlfriend. In the end, she is reformed and becomes friends with the wilds. * Amy Adams as Sweet Polly Purebred * Brad Garrett as Riff Raff * John DiMaggio as Bulldog / Supershep * Phil Morris as Maim ("Supershep #1") * Michael Massee as Kill ("Supershep #2") * Cam Clarke as Attack ("Supershep #3") / Little Brown Dog * Jess Harnell as Astronaut * Zac Efron as Theodore "Ted" Wiggins, an idealistic 12-year-old boy. He is named after the author of the book, Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel). * Taylor Swift as Audrey, Ted's love interest. She is named after Audrey Geisel, Dr. Seuss' wife. * Betty White as Grammy Norma, Ted's wise-cracking grandmother. * Rob Riggle as Aloysius O'Hare, the mayor of Thneedville and head of the "O'Hare Air" company that supplies fresh air to Thneedville residents. * Jenny Slate as Mrs. Wiggins, Ted's neurotic mother. Release The film was released on March 2, 2012 in the United States and Canada and was released on July 27, 2012 in the United Kingdom. Marketing controversy Mazda used the likeness of The Lorax s setting and characters in an advertisement for their CX-5 SUV. This was seen by some as the complete opposite of the work's original meaning. In response, Stephanie Sperber, president of Universal partnerships and licensing, said Universal chose to partner with the Mazda CX-5 because it is "a really good choice for consumers to make who may not have the luxury or the money to buy electric or buy hybrid. It's a way to take the better environmental choice to everyone." The film has also been used to sell Seventh Generation disposable diapers. In total, Illumination Entertainment struck more than 70 different product integration deals for the film. Home media The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 7, 2012. Mini-movies Three mini-movies were released on the Lorax Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack on August 7, 2012: Serenade, Wagon Ho!, and Forces of Nature. ;Serenade Lou wants to impress a girl Barbaloot, but he has some competition. ;Wagon Ho! The Once-ler arrives with his wagon and Melvin. Then Pipsqueak and Lou arrive. The Once-ler tells them not to have joyrides. When the Once-ler goes inside his house, Pipsqueak and Lou start cranking up the wagon, but Melvin refuses to pull it because he is angry that they whipped the reins. So Pipsqueak hangs a truffula fruit in front of Melvin as an incentive. However, Melvin gets exhausted going up a steep hill. Then the wagon gets unhooked from Melvin, and it rolls downhill backwards while Pipsqueak and Lou scream in terror. Melvin chases the runaway wagon. Lou tries to stop the wagon by stabbing a stick in one of its wheels, but he gets stuck on the wheel instead. Finally, he lands back on the seat next to Pipsqueak, who hugs him happily. The wagon hits a rock and is propelled downhill even faster. When it approaches a cliff, Pipsqueak panics and grabs the wagon canopy, which flies off—only to be held in place by Lou. The wagon flies off the cliff, but the canopy acts as a parachute and they make their descent calmly, landing in the same place they left. Melvin appears shortly after. The Once-ler comes out of the house and is surprised to see them. He expresses surprise that they listened to instructions, but just when it seems like they fooled him, Lou sneezes and the wagon falls apart. Melvin hides beneath his hooves and Lou and Pipsqueak curl up into a ball. The Once-ler looks annoyed and makes a small, disgruntled "Grr" sound, causing Lou and Pipsqueak to run away into the trees. ;Forces of Nature The Lorax makes Pipsqueak an Honorary Lorax and team up to scare the Once-ler by using two sticks that looks like a monster's hand to freak him out. The Once-ler finds out it's fake and sprays water on the Lorax, which makes his fur puff-up. When the Lorax tells Pipsqueak that he's going to turn out like him, Pipsqueak gets scared and runs away. The short ends with the Lorax telling Pipsqueak that he lost his Honorary Lorax title. Video game Blockdot created a mobile puzzle game based on the film, titled Truffula Shuffula. The game was released on February 1, 2012, for Apple iOS and Android platforms. Reception Critical response The film earned a rating of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 148 reviews and an average rating of 5.9/10, with the critical consensus saying, "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is cute and funny enough, but the moral simplicity of the book gets lost with the zany Hollywood production values." It also has a score of 46 on Metacritic based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". New York magazine film critic David Edelstein on NPR's All Things Considered strongly objected to the movie, arguing that the Hollywood animation and writing formulas washed out the spirit of the book. "This kind of studio 3-D feature animation is all wrong for the material," he wrote. Demonstrating how the book's text was used in the movie in this excerpt from the review, Edelstein discusses Audrey describing the truffula trees to Ted: :"the touch of their tufts was much softer than silk and they had the sweet smell of fresh butterfly milk – and the movie Ted says, "Wow, what does that even mean?" and Audrey says, "I know, right?" So one of the only lines that is from the book, that does have Dr. Seuss' sublime whimsy, is basically made fun of, or at least, dragged down to Earth." Lou Dobbs, the host of Lou Dobbs Tonight on the Fox Business Network, has criticized the film as being "insidious nonsense from Hollywood", and accused Hollywood of "trying to indoctrinate children". The film also garnered some positive reviews from critics such as Richard Roeper, who called it a "solid piece of family entertainment". Roger Moore of the Pittsburgh Tribune called the film "a feast of bright, Seuss colors, and wonderful Seuss design", and supported its environmentalist message. Box office The film has grossed $214,030,500 in North America, and $134,809,816 in other countries, for a worldwide total of $348,840,316. The film topped the North American box office with $17.5 million on its opening day (Friday, March 2, 2012). During the weekend, it grossed $70.2 million, easily beating the other new nationwide release, Project X ($21 million), and all other films. This was the biggest opening for an Illumination Entertainment film, and for a feature film adaptation of a book by Dr. Seuss, as well as the second largest for an environmentalist film. It also scored the third-best debut for a film opening in March, and the eighth-best of all time for an animated film. The Lorax stayed at #1 the following weekend, dropping 45% to $38.8 million and beating all new nationwide releases, including Disney's John Carter (second place). On April 11, 2012, it became the first animated film in nearly a year to gross more than $200 million in North America, since Walt Disney Animation Studios' Tangled.Weekend Report (cont.): 'Titanic 3D' Doesn't Sink or Sail Soundtrack The licensed soundtrack album is only available as a download on various online music stores. It contains the original score by John Debney and the hip hop rendition of the Underdog theme title, "Underdog Raps", performed by then-Disney star Kyle Massey, which received airplay on Radio Disney. The Plain White T's rendition of the theme, titled "Underdog Rocks", plays at the beginning of the film but was not included on the album. Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 69 reviews and an average rating 4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Underdog is a mostly forgettable adaptation that relies far too heavily on recycled material and sloppy production." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 37 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. See also * 2012 in film * Cinema of the United States * List of Underdog characters References External links * * * * * * Category:2012 films Category:2012 3D films Category:2012 American animated films Category:2012 computer-animated films Category:2010s fantasy films Category:2010s musical comedy films Category:American films Category:American animated fantasy films Category:American children's animated films Category:American children's fantasy films Category:American computer-animated films Category:American fantasy-comedy films Category:American musical comedy films Category:American musical fantasy films Category:Animated comedy films Category:Animated musical films Category:Dystopian films Category:English-language films Category:Environmental films Category:Fictional endangered and extinct species Category:Films based on works by Dr. Seuss Category:Films featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Illumination Entertainment animated films Category:IMAX films Category:Nonlinear narrative films Category:Universal Pictures animated films Category:Film scores by John Debney